File drawer follower



p 1946- B. c. BRADNER I 2,407,055

FILE DRAWER FOLLOWER Filed Nov. 6, 1945 if \x w l l I I l 5 ymhox 0/ a6.fd fi/ M Patented Sept. 3, i946 FILEDRAWER FOLLQWER I Burke 0. Bradner,Chicago, 111., assignor, by mesne ;,assignments, to Clarence E. Threedy,Chicago,

111., as trustee Application November 6, 1943, Serial No. 09.175 Q Thisinvention-relates to the hereinafter described improvements in'filedrawer followers, and has for its principal object the provision of animproved" construction of this character which will be highly efficientin use and economical in manufacture. i

File drawers with which are associated followers of the type to whichthis invention relates, in their standard construction comprise, inaddition to front, side, and end walls, a bottom wall; and it is uponthis bottom wall that the followers which I am familiar bear withexcessive force in order to clampingly fix the follower incardsupporting position. Such followers bear upon the side walls as wellasthe bottom wall. In such cases, by actual experience I have found thatdue to the excessive pressure exerted upon the clamping parts of thefollower in order to hold the follower in place, the side wallssometimes buckle and invariably where the bottom wall is made of arelatively thin, single, dr veneer strip or sheet of wood, it, beingweaker than the side walls, will buckle outwardly. This buckling of theside and/or bottom wallsresults in a disturbed mounting of the cards orother file matter in the drawer. Most of all, it eventually severs theglued or otherwise secured abutting edges of the drawstructure. As aconsequence, the life of the file drawer is greatly shortened and thedrawer itself rendered inefficient for its purpose. This is especiallytrue when it is noted that the buckling of the walls or bottom preventsthe drawer from being mounted in its respective drawer-receiving spaceor pigeonhole.

It is therefore one of the objects of this invention to provide a filedrawer follower which will eliminate these known defects.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of partsto be hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawing showing the preferred form of construction, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a file drawer showing my improvedfollower associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional detail view of the file drawer showingan end view of the follower embodying my invention;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional detail view of the file drawershowing my follower associated therewith;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional detail View of 5 Claims. (01112949) l2 the fileldrawer illustrating a vertical sectional detail view of thefollower;

Fig, 5 is a fragmentary perspective View of the base block of thefollower; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective View of the cap portion of thefollower.

The drawing illustratesthe preferred form of construction by which theseveral objects of my invention are accomplished. In this drawing isillustrated a file drawer In of a standard construction,. except ashereinafter noted. This drawer l0 includes side walls II and front andback walls l2 and I3, respectively, the back wall l3 having the usualhand opening M formed therein. This drawer further includes a bottomwall I5. In this drawer is adapted to be mounted file matter |6 whichmay take various forms but which is shown, in the present instance, asin the form of cards. These cards are retained in a stacked positionwithin the drawer ID by the follower IT. This follower comprises a capportion I8 and a base portion Hi. The cap portion l8 comprises acard-engaging wall 20. Secured to one face of this wall 20 is a pressureblock 2| having a portion cut therefrom to provide a recess 22 and adepending rib 23. Extending from the opposite end portions of this block2| are lugs 24 whichare adapted to slide in grooves 25 formed in theopposed faces 26 of the side walls I I. 7

In the medial portion of this block 2| is formed a transverse recess 21housing the cam portion of a lever 29. This lever 29 has a bearing 3|!which receives a pintle 3|, the ends 32 of which are pressed orotherwise fixed in the openings 33 formed in the wall 20 and the block2|. The lever-29 is eccentrically mounted with respect to the pintle 3|so as to provide the cam portion 28.

The block 2| is glued or otherwise fixedly secured to the wall 20.

The cam head or portion 28 is adapted to bear against a projection 35formed as an integral part of the base block 36 of the follower. Thisprojection 35 engages in the recess 22. The base block 36 is slidablyconnected to the card-engaging wall 2|] by means of a lateral projection31 which engages in a recess 38, the recess 38 being wider than thethickness of the projection 31, whereby the block 36 may have the properdownward movement relative to the wall 20. This arrangement unites thefollower into a complete unitary structure whereby the same may beexpeditiously mounted and removed from its position in the file drawer.

The opposite end portions of the base block 36 have laterally extendinglugs 39 which engage in grooves 40 formed in the opposed faces of theside walls II.

The grooves 25 and 40 are so spaced with respect to each other as tosupport the follower in a position with the base block 36 slightlyspaced as at 4| above the top surface of the bottom IS, the arrangementbeing such that when the lever 29 is manipulated to bear the cap l8 andbase block 36 away from each other, no part of the follower will engagethe bottom wall. Consequently the bottom wall will not be caused tobuckle during the operation of the follower in card or file mattersupporting position within the drawer If I It is apparent from thedescription herein that the bearing or wedging action of the lugs 24 and39 is upon the walls of the grooves 25 and 40. Consequently it isobvious, as in the case with reference to the bottom l5, that nopressure is transmitted to the side walls H which would cause the sidewalls to buckle and consequently I distort the shape of the drawer.

While I have illustrated and described the prevention into effect, thisis capable of variation and modification without departing from thespirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to theprecise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself ofsuch variations and modifications as come within the scope of theappended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a drawer comprising side walls having parallelgrooves formed in each of the opposed -faces of such walls, a followermounted in said drawer and comprising sections adapted to have verticalmovement in opposite directions with respect to each other and includinglateral projections engaging said grooves and adapted to bear onadjacent walls of said grooves when moved in said opposite verticaldirections, and means for moving said sections in said opposite verticaldirections.

2. In combination, a drawer comprising side walls having parallelgrooves formed in each of the oposed faces of such walls, a followermounted in said drawer and comprising sections adapted to have verticalmovement in opposite directions with respect to each other and havinghorizontal slidable connection with respect to each other and includinglateral projections engaging said jacent walls of said grooves whenmoved in said oposite vertical directions, and means for moving saidsections in said opposite vertical directions, said follower beingslightly spaced from the bottom of said drawer.

4. A follower comprising a cap portion, a base portion, said cap portioncomprising a transversely extending recess, a projection on the baseportion and operable in said recess, said cap portion having a secondtransversely extending recess, a rib on said base portion slidablypositioned in said second recess, the width of said second recess beinglarger than the thickness of said rib to permit freedom of movement ofsaid rib through a predetermined space, and a cam bearing lever carriedby said cap portion and engaging said projection for moving said baseportion a predetermined distance relative to said cap portion.

5. A follower for a file drawer, which drawer comprises sidewalls, frontand end walls, and a bottom wall, with each of the sidewalls providedwith spaced parallel longitudinally extending grooves on its inner facethereof, comprising sections adapted to have vertical movement withrespect to each other and provided with lateral projections slidablyengageable in said grooves, and camming means carried by one of saidsections and adapted to engage the other of said sections to bear saidprojections against adjacent walls of said grooves to clamp saidfollower in a position with said drawer, said follower being supportedby said projections and said side walls with its lower edge portionslightly spaced above the bottom Wall of said drawer to avoid pressurebeing applied on said bottom wall when said camming means is manipulatedto bear said projections against said adjacent walls of said grooves.

BURKE C. BRADNER.

